


I'm Reluctant to Play the Devil's Game

by Blunt_Bunny123, PlayersTale



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series), Helluva Boss (Web Series)
Genre: Ashley the bunny animator is adorable and may be a source of influence for this mc, Christian Reader, Ew, HELLUVA BOSS > HAZBIN HOTEL, INVADER ZIM IS MOXXIE MY NERDY HEART CANT TAKE IT, Its Hell, Its mature cuz ya no, Like cannibalism 4 ex, Or a serious one who knows~, PlayersTale Story, Sorry its not my scene, This may be a casual slice of HELLife story, Why?, Wont add messed shit in here, Wraith of Barbs is actually another fanfic with a christian reader, definitely will read later, haha I put reader in the tags cuz this character has no name, i just found it, like no, lucifer is a bitch and is fun to write, they have my respect!, wrote this on a whim instead of studying for exams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:34:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blunt_Bunny123/pseuds/Blunt_Bunny123, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlayersTale/pseuds/PlayersTale
Summary: A young woman with Christian beliefs gets bit by a snake and is forced to play along with the devil’s “game”. Don’t succumb to your vices till the next Extermination Day? Easy! If only it was that simple.
Relationships: Charlie Magne/Vaggie, Millie/Moxxie (Helluva Boss)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	1. All Bark and No Bite

**Author's Note:**

> Hahaha, hi~  
> Look at me! I post one chpt for one random fandom and here I am posting another story for another random fandom! Don't blame tho, ive had this idea for a while now and Im surprise NO ONE (well, maybe no one so far) has yet to post a Hazbin story about a christian protagonist. Well, I mean, I get it. Religious stuff is kinda a let down for some people and is sort of a touchy subject/can be cheesy (idk it can i guess), but THIS fandom was begging for it! Hell this, hell that. You can't have a hell without a heaven, and you can't have sinners without god's (*Angel cough* "ASS KISSERS") ahhhhhh--THE POINT is, lets just give this a try! 
> 
> Also, this may have to be edited later cuz its 3 am and I wanted it posted NOW.  
> I am very grateful this site isnt strict like fanfiction.net or I would be TROLL for my lack of-uuuuh-GOOD writing.
> 
> LOL, enjoy~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young woman wakes and doesn't know where she is, till the Devil himself appeared and made her quite...upset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~NOTE (04/28/20): this chpt was updated in preparation for the next chpt.~~
> 
> ~~ALSO NOTE (05/02/20): BluntBunny edited this chapter mercilessly and this is the result of it. (*sniffle and sob* am I THAT bad of a writer Blunnie??? TT_TT)~~
> 
> ~~I'm also messing around with the spacing between paragraphs. I'll fix it up more when I'm not behind on my school work.~~
> 
> NOTE (01/31/21) I've uploaded this story's plot to fit in the new Helluva Boss story and stuff :3

A young woman wakes up in a dark, silent room. Her body ached from the hard, cold floor as she laid on her side. Dazed and confused, she slowly sat up to look around. It wasn't long before she realized that something was extremely wrong.

Where was she? What happened?

A lump formed in her throat as she stayed completely still as she tried to rationalize her situation. 

The last thing she remembered doing was pulling weeds in the garden. It was her first day off from work and school in about a week and the plants had looked very neglected. Under the scorning glare of the sun, the little woman decided to clean up the yard full of weeds and tall grass instead of doing her homework assignments. 

But that was all. 

She didn't remember going inside at all. And even if she was indoors, it shouldn't be this cold in her poorly insulated house when it was sweltering outside. The woman peers around the room again, hoping that maybe she had just taken a nap and didn't realize that it was nighttime already. Gazing around the dark room she couldn't see any windows in the room at all. This horrifying fact made her realize that this was not her home. Her small house has windows on all four walls. The anxiety in her chest spiked and she could no longer stay still. She had to know what was going on.

Shifting her weight onto her hands and feet, she groaned as a painful stab emanated from her ankle. The woman cursed and flipped onto her bottom, being careful about putting pressure on her left ankle. She searched the ground anxiously and sighed as her hand bumped into a rectangular plastic object, which was confirmed to be her galaxy phone by the feel of the case and pop-socket on its back. After activating her screen and adding in her password, she turned on the flashlight and directed it to her leg.

Her hand covered her mouth and gaped at the sight of blood oozing out of four punctures just above the cuff of her work boot, on the outer side of her calf. The skin above her ankle was bruised maroon and was tender to the slightest movements her leg made. With a gulp, she hovered a shaking hand out to the wound. 

"It bit me." She murmured, thinking aloud to herself to calm her nerves. The woman noticed she was still wearing her heavy duty boots, tank top, and shorts. An image of an albino snake came to mind.

"I remember. I was in the garden and then--” 

A sliding door behind her opened and closed quickly, letting in a flash of light into the room momentary, blinding her for a few seconds. With her eyes shut, she heard the sounds of footsteps draw closer as they circled around her in a steady pace. Each step caused her breathing to increase higher and higher until she was almost hyperventilating. Before she even realized it, the footsteps had come to a complete stop to her left. 

“Oh my,” a deep, masculine voice mumbled. The poor woman stopped breathing, for he was close. 

Very close to her in fact. 

“No no, this won’t do.” With two claps, the space around her began to shift and she felt herself being moved by an unknown force. She clenched her ears and didn’t dare move or whimper out even as her stomach churned. No matter the situation, she did not dare show any weakness. A chuckle interrupted her thoughts and she flinched. 

“It’s alright, you may open your eyes.” That soothing tone almost made her feel at ease. Almost. Taking a deep breath, the young woman peered out and made eye contact with yellow eyes with soulless ebony pupils. Instinctively leaning away, her back hit a cushioned backing of a chair, she glanced over her shoulder and then briefly around. It was a small office space, with a massive desk between her and the man sitting right across from her. Besides the furniture, the rest of the room just was pure white walls with apple wood floors. 

“So,” his voice jerked her gaze back to him, unnerved by his yellow reptilian stare. As if enchanted, the woman shamelessly stared at the man before her. His face and platinum blonde hair were so pale that he would have blended in with the walls if it weren’t for the pink accents to his extravagant suit and heavy blush to his cheeks. Other features that stood out on his white face were his thin charcoal lips and glowing golden eyes. 

She felt a chill as she observed how _unnatural_ this man looked before she accidentally made eye contact. 

Amused, the strange man stared right back at her as his black lips curled into a cocky grin around his pointed teeth. He paid no mind to her blatant gaze and sat perfectly straight, observing her every move. When she noticed this, the frightened woman couldn’t bring herself to look directly at his face and instead looked at his odd hat. A lilac snake and a crisp red apple ornamented around the white top hat. Something clicked in that moment as she came to a crazy and unbelievable thought. A shaky sigh left her as she set her jaw, the woman glared openly at the “man” before her. That grin of his grew to an inhuman degree as he leaned forward onto the desk, propping his head up onto his hands. 

“Are you ready to converse?” his claw-like fingers flexed as he tilted his head. 

“I’m sure you have a lot of little inquiries, but sadly I only have time for just a few for now. I am quite a busy man.”

The muscles in her arms tensed as she gripped onto the armrests and her blood pulsed. 

“Y-you fucking bastard,” The woman choked, trying to control her racing heart and moisture forming on her eyelids. She shook her head.

“Just what the fuck could you possibly want from ME?” Her voice spat out the last word, feeling breathless and gestured to herself. 

“ME!? Out of ALL the fucking lucky-go-lucky millennials, deprived criminals, and twisted politicians!” She stood abruptly, pushing away the armchair to get up close to the fucker. 

“You picked ME to fuck with!? The half ass college student!” She shouted, “What the HELL did I do to get on your sinner radar!?” 

The Devil sat there with an amused smirk, and slowly rose out of his seat to his full height. The woman glared up at him with a scowl as he towered over her by a foot. He sneered down at her, arms crossed behind his back and laughed in her face. 

“Hehe, oh dear! I didn’t expect you to be so forward.” His bold brows arched up as he studied her trembling shoulders.

“It’s adorable, truly. This “tough girl” act of yours. You’re going to need it around here.”

“Around where?” She straightened her back but her leg gave to the aching wound, causing her to stumble. 

“ **Here**!” he spoke with a flourish of his outstretched arms to the walls collapsing back to reveal a view of a city and a blackened sky. 

The woman gaped at the demonic looking city from their place atop of an over-towering skyscraper. She could hear people’s screams and gunfire down below, as well as the rumbling of the ominous clouds from above. The sky harbored no sunlight, just rays of strange light that tinted everything in scarlet tones. This world was not the one she remembered. She took a deep breath but ended up coughing due to the air pollution.

“This here is Pentagram city, little lamb. **My** city at the highest ring of Hell, to be precise.” The devil strides up to her side, bowing as he gracefully offered his arm. 

“It would be wise for you to listen to what I have to say.” She paused before turning away. That was a mistake. He snatched her forearm and dragged her resisting form with ease to the ledge of the skyscraper. 

“Uh oh, carefully now.” He warned her, rolling his eyes, as he lifted her flailing figure up onto the crumbling ledge next to him. She stopped her struggling when she felt the unstable brick under her feet. If the creature were let go of her arm, there would be nothing to prevent her from swaying too far forward. 

“Just a second of uncertainty here can lead you to an unfortunate stumble.” From her perch, she was leaned over the edge only for the brick wall to crumble from under her. Time slowed as she felt gravity pull her downwards head first until his bruising grip on her arm halted her descent. Wide eyed, the woman stared down the 300 meters to the bloodstained streets where she would have died. At the moment, the tips of her boots and the iron grip on her arm were the only things that kept her from falling, as she was suspended dangling off the ledge. Her rigid body shook and knees locked, she clasped onto the ends of her shorts in order to stop herself from grabbing onto the Devil for support. She would rather fall to her death than ask this bastard for help, of all things. Instead, she shut her eyes and prayed for this to be over quickly. Her agitated mind was then calmed and felt a little less scared. 

“ **PAY** attention!” He hissed snapping the woman back to awareness, his hand on her arm twitched and spasmed in his tight grip. She almost growled in anger at the asshole holding her, but decided against it. At that moment, she detected a foul smell of something burning. Gazing into the city streets, she saw heaping piles of body parts being gathered by monstrous beings of various shapes and sizes dressed in vintage clothing. The faint stench of rotting flesh made her stomach curl into itself, but couldn't find the source of the foul burnt smell that filled her nostrils. 

“As I was saying, that little snake bite is nothing compared to the things these sinners will do to you when given the chance.” A shriek escaped her and his grip yanked her back, tossing her body onto the cement rooftop. The woman tumbled and cried out as her limbs twitched and her swollen wound rested against a couple of rocks, stabbing into the tender flesh. The Devil dusted his white expensive suit, humming along to the chaotic ambiance of the damned before stepping toward her. Anticipating his next move, she scrambled to her feet and stood her ground despite the scraped up limbs and throbbing of her leg. He stopped only a foot away from her and offered his arm again, with a teasing smirk. 

“Care to try again?” The young lady couldn’t believe this pompous asshole was the Devil, she thought as she reluctantly took his arm. His toothy grin gleamed at her obedience while she groaned and glared out into the distance, trying to ignore his smile. 

The woman sighed and did not succumb to those turbulent emotions boiling beneath her scowl and defiant demeanor. She took solace in a quote from the bible, a message that she holds dearly within her troubled heart and mind.

_I can do all this through him who gives me strength._ (Philippians 4:13)


	2. The Devil is in The Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Devil and the poor woman have a more civilized chat, but he's still an ass as she probes him for details.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be wordy, but this is the devil we're talking about!  
> He probably talks to himself for hours in the mirror lol
> 
> ALSO (05/02/20): BluntBunny did the editing again, and so after fixing 50% of the story so far--she's a co-author now. UR WELCOME Blunnie.

The cushioned chair was the woman’s only refuge from the pale faced bastard standing next to her. Tightly crossing her arms over her chest, she slouched and leaned as far away from him as possible. Her forehead throbbed after scowling at him for the first five minutes of their one-sided discussion. She was hating him more and more as he continued on explaining about the circumstances surrounding her getting dragged into literal hell. Besides being in hell, what irked her the most was his elaborately VAGUE explanation. It was along the lines of her not being dead BLAH BLAH coma, mild BLAH anoxic or whatever, BLAH her soul BLAH BLAH here till the BLAH bite is BLAH BLAH. That was the whole gist of his long-winded speech of her enforced stay in hell.

  


Bullshit.

  


“That makes absolutely no sense,” she said, sitting up and resting her head one her hand while the other tapped restlessly on the armrest. “So you're saying that I’m **here** because of this stupid bite, and all I have to do is wait **here** till it’s all healed and I can go home?”

The Devil smiled with a slight nod, to which she groaned. 

“Liar!” She spat. There was something inside her conscience that told her there was more to this than he was implying. “You’re obviously fucking with me.”

"What a filthy mouth you have there, dear." He snickered his mouth twisting into a smirk, leering down at her. “It is refreshing to see that one of God’s children is not a mindless pawn.”

The human cocked a brow. “So you know I’m Christian. How?” 

“What an _enlightened_ question!” He mocked with a crooked grin, and he offered his gloved hand and opened his palm. “Would you indulge me a moment to hold thy lady’s hand?” 

  


She sat there with her fingers still tapping at the wood of the armchair pondering before holding out two fingers and a thumb and pinched at his fingertips. The instant their hands touched, a bit of smoke emitted from beneath her hold and it effused an unpleasant smell like the one from earlier. The smell of burning flesh. Disgusted, the woman withdrew her hand and saw the smoke trailing off the scorched spot she left behind. A hole was burnt through the black glove and revealed blackened, sizzling flesh. The woman looked at her own digits and didn’t find any blisters or even soot on them. She was stumped.

“This is what will happen to any demon that tries to touch the skin or hair of a blessed follower of God. A lesser demon would have burst into flames.” the Devil said simply. He then rubbed his burnt fingers together and the scorch marks disappeared and his glove repaired. “ _If_ that follower is pure, that is.”

“What do--” The bastard raised his hand amid her inquiry. “You have four more questions before I have to attend to my more crucial errands. Like I said, I’m far too busy for this mundane exchange.”

She croaked, flustered. Her face felt hot and her headache worsened. The nerve of this asshole! She gingerly caressed her aching head with a heavy sigh. 

' _Dear Father in Heaven_ ,' she prayed. 

' _If I could only smack him without dying, just once, I would be ever so grateful_.' Even though she wouldn't dare to smack the Devil herself, she relished in the thought that God will do it for her in his own way. Someday soon, perhaps? With a deep sigh, the woman thought carefully on her last three questions. 

"Ok," she began, straightening up in her chair. "What exactly do I have to do to get rid of this snake bite, _besides_ waiting?"

The Devil hummed amusingly as he walked around to stand in front of her, and reached into his coat pulling out a fancy cane topped with a polished red apple. 

"Oh, you mean _this_?" He took the cane and jabbed the point of it into her dirty wound. A loud sob was ripped out of her as she pulled her leg away, jerking forward and curling over. A dark purple spot appeared over the already bruised area, in between the punctures. 

"Well, besides waiting, you will have to make sure to keep yourself from indulging in the cardinal sins." He chuckled and continued on as his eyes gleamed with mirth at her expense. "You know, the thing little lambs like you do best."

The woman trembled as she tried to recover from the renewed pain, grimacing and gasping with a tear rolling down her cheek. 

"However, if you do fail to keep to your virtues, you will feel an agonizing pain like so." The bastard placed the cane in front of him and smiled pleasantly at her. 

"And when you finally succumb to your vices, the poison will ooze out and spread, infecting not just your body, but your soul too." He leaned down close where his reptilian gaze pierced into hers. 

"Your soul will then become a part of **my** city, where your God cannot reach you." He growled, tracing a finger across her tear stained cheek. She whimpered despite herself, as that foul burning stench overtook her senses. Standing back up and retracting his hand, the Devil paced around her distressed form while twirling his cane, he proceeded to skim through the details.

"This is quite tedious, but I can't deny the pleasure I get from watching you precious children of God wither and become slaves to your dark desires. So consider this a small courtesy, as your future King." The Devil patted the top of her head as he circles around to regain her focus on him. The human jerked away and curled her lip at the wink he sent her way in passing.

" _If_ you do somehow survive past 6 days, you are released back to your original body for that 7th day on a weekly basis. And _if_ you happen to get lucky and still have a linking of faith left by the time this city's next Extermination occurs, you will be brought back home safe and sound. But really, if it were up to me, I would just keep you for 6 lifetimes." Dazed she reclined against the chair, sweat coated her skin as she processed the information. Don’t commit a deadly sin of the flesh for an undetermined amount of time. Fine, this she can do but what was the catch? Just not sin too much in Hell and or on Earth? That’s also fine. She wasn’t the saintliest of Christians but she does abide to basic holy laws, most of the time. 

“So,” the woman asked in a breathless tone, “You’re asking a Christian not to excessively sin. That’s ironic coming from you but you’re assuming this will be a challenge, why?”

“It’s simple.” The Devil huffed and paused, looming over her from behind with his cane probing her skull. “That is because this is **my** city and every sinner here has no use for morals or justice. They endlessly crave damnation more than their own lives, and will do anything and everything to get their way. I’m sure a company such as theirs will be a terrible influence on God’s followers.” Regaining her strength, her arm swatted away his apple cane. She goes to stand, paying heed to her numb leg and turned to face him. He tapped against his cane impatiently and leered while she wobbled about. 

“I’m sure I provided you with enough information concerning your situation. Dare I say, is there something else you _desperately_ needed to know? This will be your last question.”

“But _you_ said I had four m--” She growled.

“I **LIED**.” he snarled back with a fierce grin, his pupils shifted to thin slits and a forked tongue sprouted out. The pale skin around his mouth stretched close to tearing as monstrous jaws formed outward. A trail of drool mixed with black blood dripped down the corner of his lip, a gruff sigh leaving him. The display stunned the human silent.

“It’s what I do, as you addressed so candidly.” The Devil took two long steps and was within her personal space once again. She shuffled back at his advance as his brows knitted and smile strained. “Do forgive me but I’m, again, short on time and have grown bored of you. So please, **do** go on and ask already.”

  


At this point, this whole ordeal was starting to take its toll on the woman both emotionally and physically. The woman was surprised she was still standing. At first, she believed this to be a horrible dream or an illusion, but the bruises, cuts, and racing of her heart contradicted that notion. But as long as she was alive and undergoing this torment, there was one question that ruthlessly looped in her thoughts . 

“Why?” Her throat dry as she spoke. Clearing her throat, she craned her neck to stare straight at him. 

“ _Why_ me?” she repeated, her words came out in a small and delicate tone as the sinking feeling in her gut took hold of her. “You never answered my first question.”

He blinked, taken back as the slits returned to being soulless orbs. His shoulders shook as he held his head back toward the sky laughing, the pentagram in the sky brightened to his laughter. The woman stood there, unaffected. Just tired. Again, she privately prayed for this to be over quickly, for every minute of being with this atrocious bitch of a demon was draining her sanity. This dramatic exchange could have been devised as a form of torture from the start of their meeting. And she couldn’t hate him anymore for it.

  


"That's all?" The bastard chuckled, wiping a tear from his own eye. Her mouth twitched and nodded curtly. 

“Alright.” He then bent down to her level using his cane as leverage, taking in her enervated expression with delight. “You want my _honest_ answer then?” 

She narrowed her gaze.

“Even though I was purposeful searching for lambs to torture and strip away from their Shepard's herd for fun’s sake,” he smirked as he dragged on. “I didn’t imagine I’d find such a _neglected_ little lamb trailing behind their master. It was as if--” 

“Are you saying I’m unfaithful?” The woman cut in with arms crossed and an edge to her tone, as she suspected him speaking ill of her faith. An offense she wouldn’t take lightly from anyone.

“No,” he sneered. “You were easily attainable because God lost faith in _you_ , little lamb.”

  


Her clenched fist moved on its own accord but before it could make contact with the Devil’s smug face, the world went dark.


	3. Stairway to Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first steps to Hell were the most humiliating and horrifying to those who were condemned to descend them. For this poor human, it was just a shitty stairwell and she had to walk down a whole 66 floors with an injured leg. 
> 
> What did she expect? An elevator?  
> Noooooo, not on Satan's watch!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Cuz I might not post till I finish reading my history sheet and watch some history stuff.  
> T-T
> 
> NOTE (2/11/21): Idk why Bluntie's name is before mine in the "by ___" section, but just so we're clear--this story is mine and Bluntie's story is "Heaven Bound". If you haven't read it, do so! 
> 
> We both help each other out with story writing and editing and stuff. At some point, I wouldn't be surprised if you guys see some similarities between our stories later on. But no worries, cuz we both have fun writing our stories and that's all that matter! ;3

“A-ah, augh...” Breathing heavily she stopped her descent down the long, twisting spiral of uneven stairs and leaned against a cement wall. The stairwell was in disarray with debris and trash littering each landing and step. The air was stuffy and stale, as there was no refreshing air conditioning like in the Devil’s ‘office’ on the rooftop. Several minutes have past since she had descended down these stairs and wondered how much later till she would reach the bottom. An hour? Two hours? All fucking day? With the multiple flesh wounds and the numbness in her leg restricting her movements, the human wouldn’t be surprised if she passed out again before making it halfway down. At first she was relieved when she found a way off the rooftop after regaining consciousness, though now those feelings of gratitude were left forgotten on the 5th staircase where she had to drag herself along the railing for support. 

The wall was the only thing keeping her upright as her body was still sore and unstable. A liquid trickled down her chin, touching a finger to it caused her to hiss out at the sting of her top lip and left nostril. Her hand gingerly pressed beneath her nose and more blood dripped down her fingers. She was perplexed but then recalled being smacked in the face by a shiny, metal apple before passing out. 

"S-shit." Her head spun as she bent down to check the snakebite on her calf. The four punctures were beginning to scab over, more discoloration encircled the flesh above the cuff of her boot, and the majority of her leg ached faintly at the lightest touch. Besides the purple bruises and numbness, the venom wasn’t affecting her in a life-threatening way. This was concerning, as this was not a normal poison that she was injected with, _if_ this was a poison. The Devil’s parting words caused her more distress than the wounds on her person.

_God lost faith in_ you, _little lamb._

The human's bloodied lips flattened together and pounded her fist on the cement wall, cursing his name under her breath. The Devil left her to rot in his realm, atop of a skyscraper with a limp and a near concussion. Alone in a city of demons and sinners, she was fortunate that the building was abandoned with no one near her unconscious body. The human refused to dwell on what could have happened if that wasn’t the case, wiping her bloody nose with a dirty fist and winced. That sucker punch to the face must have left a nasty bruise by the feel of it. Why did this have to happen to her? She was doing fine on her own till that bastard bit her, and now she was stuck here. 

Did God--No, of course not. 

The woman’s back slid down the wall and sat on the dusty steps, cradling her head into her hands. Weighted breaths left her as she rested onto her good leg and felt a heavy weight set inside her chest. It hadn’t even been an hour and her thoughts are already riddled with doubts on the Heavenly Father. 

A pit in her stomach was forming but she forced that feeling away and uncurled herself, slouching against the wall. She coughed and mumbled to herself. 

“It’s okay. Things will be okay.” Clearing her dry throat she continued, determined to ease the pressure mounting inside her. 

“This is nothing new. This is a test. Your testament, it has to be, right? People have been through these sorts of trials before and it changed their lives for the better, though I doubt none of them were done in Hell.” she sighed, and her eyes widened as she recalled a story in the Bible. 

Job did go through Hell, in a way, and he was very loyal but because the Devil and God made a bet on his faithfulness in the face of despair, the evil bastard destroyed his land, family, and means of living. And through his testament, Job ponders on God’s intentions after losing everything he holds dear and becomes bitter, anxious, and scared. He stayed faithful regardless of his misery and God rewarded him with a new family of five children, land, and wealth.

“So...” the woman sat there, mauling over the bits of the biblical story in her mind and compared it to her situation. "Does that mean I'm being tested on _my_ faith?" 

It’s a bit of a stretch and the circumstances in comparison are different. The Devil did mention how he couldn't hold her here on the Sabbath day, so that means she still has a connection to the upper world. This was good news but it still didn't answer why she was chosen to be tested and why it had to be in HELL, a place the Devil’s influence is strongest and not on Earth, where God can intervene with more ease. Can God even reach her here if things get too out of hand? The woman shook her head as thoughts turned to uncertainty again and forced herself to focus on the facts. 

Job, even though faithful, was becoming too proud of his wealth, prosperous family, and land credited these achievements to himself and not God. God then challenged Job, letting the Devil take away all he had which gave him an opportunity to think on his faith. This is what she could remember of her bible studies from _when_ she went to church.

The human frowned and picked at the smudges on her shirt. 

The problem was she isn't like Job. She's a Christian, sure, but she couldn't confidently say she's as faithful as Job or had any grand possessions to be proud of. She attended church but not anymore due to reasons, she prays at least twice a day, and works an honest job and studies part-time. The only reason she has a house to herself is thanks to her mom's connections and she doesn't pay much for rent, as long as she worked on the old man's yard for him and kept it clean; therefore, comparing herself to Job wouldn't get her any closer to knowing God's reasoning for allowing the Devil to ensue mayhem onto her wellbeing. This Christian had no choice but to find out herself and pray for guidance.

No matter how much torment he inflicts, she must endure it till she is able to return home, and to do that she would have to rely on God more than ever. To show the Devil that he was wrong to doubt her faith. 

Thrusting a trembling hand into her pocket, she pulled out a metal keychain with a famous prayer carved into it. She pressed her back flat against the wall and poured her heart out to God through The Lord's Prayer.

**"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.**

**Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.**

**For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.**

**Amen."**

The woman repeated the prayer over and over till the pit in her stomach and the wavering thoughts of her future disappeared. She was now able to get up off the dirt and hobble to the exit door. Which was locked, just like the others. The human groaned at her luck and forced herself downward where an opposing force of evil welcomed her.

Stairs.

A long, twisting downward spiral of uneven stairs. That descends 300 meters or so down with 66 floors.

The Devil was indeed testing her will to live, every agonizing step of the way.

###### 2 hours later

The Christian collapsed as her foot slid off a step of Hell's stairway. The 61th floor had patches of decayed carpet left to cushion her fall, but the stains stunk of a potent acidic scent that assaulted the nose. The dizziness she felt was gone after a short rest on the 55th floor where a couch was shoved in the way of the stairs. Which was great, but trying to climb over the couch almost resulted in falling on her neck. Regardless, her first day in Hell has been pretty tamed so far, based on the lack of molten lava and brimstone. When passing the 43th floor, the woman came across a corpse sprawled on the steps. 

The body was ripped of its flesh with only bits of leathery skin and hair on the skeleton. The curved horns on the skull and the anatomy of the corpse puzzled her. Was this a demon or a damned sinner? Do sinners’ bodies change or do keep their original human form? All these questions flooded her as she studied the horned skull perched on a rock, eight red pinpricks stared back at her from within the hollowed eye socket. The woman jumped back as a furry twig like appendage poked out, but she didn’t stick around to see the rest of the little critter’s legs, her body already in flight mode down to the next floor. Her pulse raced and by the time the adrenaline in her bloodstream subsided, she found herself on the 32th floor. 

Battered legs quaked violently and her throat dry, the human had yet to get to the bottom floor of this building. It was a wonder that she was able to run down over 10 sets of stairs but her body had hit its limit. Carefully she leaned against the wall next to the door with the floor number printed in its center. The wheezed, labored breathing filled the stairwell as she tried to calm her heart with some deep breathing techniques. The tense muscles in her limbs and abdomen then loosened and felt heavier than before. With a cough, she licked her cracked lips and took a closer look at the door behind her. Was it locked like the others she has come across? If not, did it lead to another unstable floor with holes, or was it packed with pungent odors like the last five doors? The woman tried not to get her hopes up as her arm reached up to turn the round doorknob. It turned and the door creaked open. 

She wanted to cry for joy, but held her breath and shut her eyes. _Please, God. Let this door lead to a place for me to rest. Even a clean spot on the floor will suffice._

Standing up with a hand on the knob, she pushed the door open and sniffed the air within. No awful stench, just dust. Creeping inside, the human peered around the dimly lit room. The door led to a short hallway to a lobby with a front desk, and a few broken chairs in what used to be a waiting area. At the back past the front desk was a broken wooden door, where a stream of light poured through the cracks and strips of black and yellow caution tape that held the door together. The broken door swayed bit by bit as a soft breeze wisped in from inside.

The human remained still by the doorway, honing in on any sounds that could hint at an unseen threat hiding in the shadows but only heard the soft creak of the office door moving to and fro. Wedging a rock between the doorframe and the door, she moved around the abandoned lobby and crept towards the taped up door. The woman's hand gripped the edge of the office door and pulled it open, sunlight flowed out to greet her. Her eyes squinted against the sudden stream of light and after a moment of adjusting, she glanced around. An elegant sofa was pressed to the wall with a boarded up window behind it. The cracks in between the boards allowed some sunlight and breeze to creep in and freshened up the small space. The red sunrays reflected off a round, clear glass vase that held a little bundle of lavender on an end table next to the sofa.

Besides the ruined furniture and miscellaneous decor left unkempt, there were no signs of corpses, rodents, or toxic material like on the other floors. Just a normal, abandoned office space. 

"Thank God." the woman exhaled, the tension in her fled out of her all at once. Shoulders slouched as a yawn came over her, she wobbled towards the sofa. Falling on her knees, she rested her head and elbows on the dusty cushion with hands pressed together in prayer. "Thank you, God." Another yawn interrupted her midway, her eyelids fluttering as she relished in the plush yet firm support the sofa provided. "Thank you..." Without warning, her fatigued body lost the last of its strength and turned limp as a sense of serenity overcame her. 

The creaking of the door swaying to and fro, the soft cotton sofa, and the lavender scented breeze made the human forget where she was for that moment as she gave in to the sandman's spell.


End file.
